


Hung With The Red Strings of Fate

by TogglemyLlama



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Canon Typical Violence, Eventual Smut, F/M, Freeform, Friendship/Love, M/M, Mild Smut, Most characters are reincarnationed from the og show, Mystery, NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Episode: s03e13 The Wrath of the Lamb, Post-Finale, Red String of Fate, Reincarnations, Slow Burn, Smut, Supernatural Elements, Unrequited Love, Will and Hannibal died at the end of season 3, lots of references to the show
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-05-29 13:23:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19401193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TogglemyLlama/pseuds/TogglemyLlama
Summary: Chiyoh’s sudden boisterous laugh interrupts them, making them both look up towards the dining room at the end of the small hall. He could also hear a deep breathy laugh of an unknown man.“Who else is here?” Nigel asks, looking back to Kikyo.She looked at him for a moment almost as if she was hesitant to tell him. Her brown eyes staring at his auburn eyes as if she was searching for something in them. He guesses she found what she was looking for because before she turned her back on him and shuffled back into the kitchen she said to him in a clear voice.“A Nakama.”Au based 300 years in the future after the fall. Where Hannibal’s reincarnation Nigel finds his dreams are being haunted by a faceless man. As the woven strings of Nigel’s psyche begin to unravel he meets a man named Daniel who feels eerily familiar. These two men, bound tightly by the red strings of fate, finds out just how far back their connection to each other actually goes.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello this is a re-upload of my very first fic/ the first piece of writing that I'm sharing ever, so please be kind. Still not used to the format yet. Unbetad so there will still be some mistakes.
> 
> *Provides a poorly made character visual at the end.*

### Chapter 1

A light mist of snow starts to cover the ground. The air is crisp as Nigel breathes in the late winter breeze. He reaches in front of himself to zip up the remainder of his clear plastic suit that covers his clothes. All he has in his hands is a key to the back door and a very sharp knife. He lets himself in silently twisting the key in the lock and gently closes the door behind him. 

The smell of the doctor office immediately fills his nose. The office is quiet, all the staff is long gone at this hour, everyone but one. He could hear the light buzzing noises of a machine at work. Nigel walks down the long hallway peeking through the glass windows in the doors until he discovered the room where the sound was coming from. 

He sees a man’s feet peeking out of a large white machine.He lays there in a pale blue paper gown; his clothes throne lazily on a small metal table beside him. The noise from the MRI buzzed and clacked, the sound echoing through the otherwise silent offices. The man lays unmoving inside despite the detracting “music” of the expensive machinery at work. 

Nigel twists the knob on the door only to discover it was locked. Nigel places his hands on the door, pressing the side of his face against the wooden frame. Closing his eyes, he can feel the light vibrations through the door and just for a moment he swears he could hear the ghostly sound of waves crashing against a shore, as if he has placed a seashell to his ear. Nigel looks through the windowed door once again but to his surprise the man is gone, not even his cloths are left behind. 

Nigel peers further into the room, his heart rate increasing slightly from the man’s disappearing act. But he sees no trace of the man, no interior door that he could have left through, nothing. The urge to open the door is suddenly potent. Nigel tests the doors lock another time to no avail. He presses his right ear to the door again, but he doesn’t hear the faint sounds of an ocean just the mechanic noise of the machine. He pushes himself from the door with a frustrated gruff. He’ll deal with the man later he says to himself and reminds himself that he came here for a reason. Nigel clenches his knife and relents, continuing to move swiftly but silently down the hallway. He passes room after room until he reaches a door that reads “Dr. Sudcliff”, he finally stops. 

"Hello?" Nigel asked, as he enters the room with a light knock. 

Dr. Sudcliff is sitting in his office chair dead, the right side of his face filleted open like a trout from mouth to ear. The doctor's face oozed blood as another man continuously does quick work of the left half with a sharp hooked blade. The man suddenly looks up from his work at Nigel's intrusion. 

"We're the same you and I" the man says before Nigel can get a word in. He wipes the knife clean on his shirt.

The man is dressed casually in tan slacks, polished black dress shoes and a white button down, but he's drenched from head to toe. His shirt, almost translucent from being so wet, is covered in blood stains. Same as his tan pants, soddened and soiled with the dark red fluid. His dripping wet brown hair curls up framing his face but instead of features all Nigel can see is one big blur. His face wiped away as if a painter purposely smudged it with their thumb. 

"Who...?" Nigel begins but trails off as the man hold up a finger shushing him silently. The faceless man calmly moves toward him, knife still in hand. His shoes make a soft squishing sound from being soaked down to his socks. He comes to stand directly in front of Nigel, their faces just inches apart. 

He carefully takes Nigel's hand in his and slowly exchanges one knife for the other. The faceless man now had Nigel's long thin knife and Nigel now had his. Nigel turns it in his hand a few times admiring it. The knife is small but sturdy and freshly sharpened, the blade elegantly curves inward like a crescent moon. He brings the knife to his mouth feeling the steel blade with the sensitive skin of his lips, reveling in the sensation of the cool sharp metal. 

Despite not having a mouth of his own the faceless man mimics him. Bringing Nigel’s long thin knife to his smeared face. Nigel feels as if the faceless man is smiling or at least pleased with his reaction. Nigel cocked his head to the side contemplating the strangeness of the interaction. 

“See….” The faceless man speaks with a slight amusement in his voice. 

“…Ssseeee…” He repeats but the sound is distorted as if he is hearing it from under water. 

Nigel shakes his head slowly, confused. The faceless man copies him like a mirror. Nigel takes a step back and is immediately countered but his strange counterpart. The blurred creature taking a step of his own reclosing the distance between them. Nigel takes another step back then another each time the man steps forward back into Nigel’s space until Nigel finds himself with his back against the same door that he entered in. 

“I’m not here for you” Nigel says, annoyed. 

“Then who are you here for?” The faceless man asks.

Nigel looks past the faceless man at the butchered doctor still slumped in his chair.

“It doesn’t really matter now, does it?” Nigel says vindictively, and with a smile Nigel plunges the knife deep within the stomach of the faceless man, wrenching the knife violently to the side spilling the contents of the man's insides. To Nigel surprise there is no blood, just gushing water that pours out of the man like a broken levee. Swirling and lapping up the walls of the small office. The salty water starts to rapidly fill the room, crashing into him, forcing him to lose his balance. The water surges down his throat, filling his lungs, choking him.

***

Nigel startles awake struggling to breathe normally, strands of hair sticking up in all directions. His back aches from the thin sweat stained futon he calls a bed. Light beams in from the single curtain-less window in his small flat, illuminating it with unwelcomed sunrays. He could feel his eyes dilating from the harsh light. He rests on his back staring up at the white ceiling as he catches his breath, forcing himself to breath out of his nose, wiping a stray tear from his cheek. He kicks the quilted duvet off of himself the sweat on his chest cooling from the chilled air in his studio. 

He often wakes up like this these days. Fresh out of a nightmare, scared breathless and clammy. He forces himself to sit up still feeling slightly disoriented. After a few moments he stands to his feet, stumbling into the dinky bathroom, the old wooden floorboards creaking as he moved. 

Nigel turns on the facet splashing water on his face to cool his flushed skin. Running his wet hands through his hair a few times in a feeble attempt at taming the knotted mess. He looks into the mirror examining himself, the chiseled features of his face, the light pucker of his lips, his straight dirty blond hair. He would actually consider himself handsome, if it weren’t for the state of him. His cheeks were slightly sunken in from his poor diet, hair that almost reached his shoulders sat greasy on top of his head. The bags under his eyes were the worst in his opinion, showing every restless night he has ever had in his 39 years. 

"They’re getting worst", he says to himself thinking of his dream. Images of the murdered doctor flashing in his mind making his stomach churn. He can almost feel the burning in his lungs from the water, which is a new addition to his chronic nightmares. The constant haunting by the faceless man, however, disturbs him the most. Almost every night for the past four months his dreams have been plagued by him. 

His dreams were always consistent in nature, usually of him hunting down and violently killing someone in the most grottiest ways imaginable. More and more frequently though he has been interrupted by this new extension. He never knows what he is going to get, sometimes he would be chasing him other times he would be running from him and now apparently, they were sometimes allies who, what exactly, liked each other’s knives? Gosh, Nigel couldn’t even keep up with the disarray he calls his mind. 

This blurred man or faceless man was hardly the scariest part of his nightmares but when he was in them they took on a whole different dimension. They wouldn’t feel like just a dream. They would feel as real as Nigel’s waking life. It would sometimes take days for Nigel to recover from them. He couldn’t understand why the man had appeared in the first place and the burning question he asked every time but would never get an answer to. Who was he? He irks to see his face, to know him, to _see_ him. He would do **anything** just to ask him why he was always there now. 

_ Anything _ ? He hears an echoed voice say in the back of his mind. 

Nigel can feel his heart skip a beat. No not again, he thought to himself. His hands trembles as he covered his ears as if he could block out the intrusive thought from the outside. The voice so loud and clear it sounded as if someone else was in the small bathroom with him. 

“P... please” Nigel begs, his voice quivers. 

_ You said anything. Would you... Kill someone to know him?  _ The voice says filling his mind with every twisted murder his dreamscape has ever seen. _To see him_. The images of countless people gutted like animals flashing in his mind like some gruesome strobe light. 

"Stop!" Nigel screams at the voice. Clenching his eyes shut forcing the images out his head. His knuckles turning white from gripping the sink too tightly. 

“Nigel?” 

“Chiyoh!?” Nigel almost jumps out of his skin caught off guard. He turns to see the little girl standing in front of the bathroom door looking at him with wide eyes. Her long black hair swayed at her waist as she took a step back, unsure of what to do. Her big black eyes peered up at Nigel worried.

“Sorry, you scared me to death.” Nigel says with a large sigh, putting a hand over his bare chest trying to calm his racing heart. “How did you get in here?” Nigel asks slipping past her into his messy room scavenging for a clean shirt to put on. He knew how she got in considering he gave her and her grandmother a key years ago. He really didn’t mind her coming in and out. Just not so early in the morning before he could have a cup of coffee or before he could sober up from his nightly terrors. 

“Who were you talking to?” Chiyoh asks as she crosses the room into the kitchen placing a large brown sack on the small scratched kitchen table. 

“No one.” Nigel says sheepishly. His face blushing a little. Ashamed that the 11-year-old had walked in on him yelling at his reflection like some crazy person. He shoves his arms though the sleeves of his cream-colored shirt and buttons it up quickly. He hems his loose linen pants he usually wears to bed and walks over to join her at his kitchen table. “What’s in the bag” He asked trying to sound casual and hopefully change the subject. 

“Oh! Obaasan told me to give this too you. We got it in special this morning” Chiyoh said all excited, the subject successfully changed. She reaches into the bag pulling out its content. She pulls out a thick slab covered in brown butcher paper. Unwrapping it to reveal the deep red meat and silvery white marbled fat running through the chunk of flesh. Nigel’s stomach lurched. “It’s Elk!” Chiyoh’s smiling face beams from excitement. “Killed a whole gang early this morning and Obaasan got the whole elk, antlers and all. There’s a big line outside the shop now, people just waiting to buy some. But Obaasan told me to bring you some before all the good cuts run out.” 

Elk was hard to come by in the village they lived in. Elk is considered good luck and represent growth and strength, it’s usually eaten customarily during the New Year. They also usually didn’t come this far up in the mountains. There aren’t many that live around the area and it would take a stroke of pure luck to catch one locally.

“Thank you Chiyoh” Nigel says wrapping the meat back up shoving it in the back of his refrigerator. 

Chiyoh smiled her famous gap-toothed smile. “We’re having supper tonight too, Obaasan is making lemon cake.” Chiyoh says, knowing its Nigel’s favorite.

“How can I pass on lemon cake” Nigel says, accepting the invitation. He plops down onto an unsteady wooden dining chair forcing a tired smile.

“Today’s real busy at the shop yah know, so I can’t stay long”. Chiyoh said as she rummages through Nigel’s kitchen cabinets finding a small plate and a clean glass. She quickly pops open the freezer pulling out a frozen loaf of wheat bread, dropping two pieces in a rusted toaster. She grabs a small jar of jam and two slices of cheese out of the fridge closing it behind her with her foot. She deposits the plate of cheese in front of him with a clank and fills the glass with tap water from the sink. 

“Eat”, Chiyoh says placing the jam and glass of water next to the small plate. “And do something with that hair of yours before you come to dinner” she says already out the front door and halfway down the stairs.

“Bye” Nigel said quietly, mostly to himself.He looked around his small cluttered flat.The too large bookshelves filled with literature. His desk in the corner of the room with old cup ring stains. He could hear the light buzzing of life outside. The people walking and talking, merchants arguing, children screaming with laughter. It was like a white noise in the silence of his dusty room. He sits listening, waiting for the voice to reappear, but it doesn’t. He is alone. He jumps slightly when the toast pops from the toaster. 

***

Nigel walks the short distance from his flat to his book shop. A cramped hole in the wall type of place. Nigel couldn’t image himself having any other profession. He was always immersed in a book as a child. His parents died when he was only 7 years old, he lived out the rest of his youth with his grandfather. He was strict but kind. He never really spoke much but at night he would read to Nigel. 

The day moved quickly, customer after customer, one wanted a book for baking the other looking for the 2nd volume of his favorite mystery trilogy, another looking for a quick romantic read. It was just him and a stoic young lad named Isaak who was technically Nigel’s employee but who didn’t see Nigel as a boss at all or even an authority figure for that matter. However, the lad was responsible, he came to work every day on time so Nigel wasn’t complaining. Especially when he didn’t mention Nigel’s little quirks like his slight lack of hygiene, and his constant mumblings to himself.Before Nigel knew it the clock showed it was already 6:45pm they would close in 15 minutes. 

Nigel waved quick goodbyes to Isaak as he locked up for the night giving the door a good yank to make sure it locked properly. We walks down the dimly lit streets still scattered with people in his wayward town. The linen pants he put on this morning flapping in the cool mountain wind, the light wool sweeter he threw on clutched close. He could hear the population of crickets chirping as the sun starts to set, cascading a dark orange hue in the sky. 

Soon Nigel found himself standing outside of an old dull brick house. The house was large compared to the humble homes of his town, mostly two story flats fit for a single family. The house was wedged between two other homes almost like a brown stone, so the entire house felt condensed and cozy despite its moderately large size. It was on the outskirts of town surrounded by dense wooded landscape that shaped a large part of the area. Large windows climbing up the front of the home with wooden shudders that matched the red color of the place. Nigel could see the smoke from the chimney billowing out from the back of the home. 

_ It’s rude to show up to a dinner party empty handed _ . The voice spoke as he approached the front gate opening it with a creek. Nigel hears his breath hitch at the sudden intruder in his head, but he ignores it and takes a moment to collect himself. He has a slight headache but he’s cold and hungry, so he takes another slow deep breath and knocks on the chipped red door. Ignoring his sleep deprived mind begging to go home.

“Hi!” Chiyoh said brightly as she pushed open the large heavy door, ushering Nigel inside taking his shoes from him faster than he can take them off. 

“Hello” Nigel says with a ruffle of her long tussled hair. She wore an all black cotton dress with little frills on the ends of the bell sleeves. Her long thick hair pulled back into a single bread 

“Obaachan! Nigel is here!” Chiyoh belts out as she scurries back into a room at the end of their short hallway.

“There’s not a need to yell.” Chiyoh grandmother says as she comes into the dimly lit foyer. Her thick accent laced between her words.

“Kikyo’ Nigel greeted, bending down to kiss the elderly woman on the cheek. She was petite, her head barley clearing Nigel’s shoulders.Her short black hair is cut perfectly in a chin length bob. Her brown eyes still knowing and youthful despite her age.

“Nigel” she said looking at the state of him, brushing his hair out of his face. 

“I’m fine.” Nigel lied. He didn’t need her to worry about him. The woman practically raised him being old friends with his grandfather and helping out as much as she could after his parents had passed. If it wasn’t for her he doubts his grandfather, who was already sixty eight years old at the time, could have even fed him a hot meal without burning their house down. 

“When is the last time you had a proper night’s sleep.” She said, expertly feeling his wrist checking his pulse. He tries to free his hand with no avail. She takes her other hand and presses firmly between his thumb and pointer finger, Nigel winced at the slight pressure. She gives him a knowing look. 

“Kikyo.” he sighs, begging her not to start.

Chiyoh’s sudden boisterous laugh interrupts them, making them both look up towards the dining room at the end of the hall. He could also hear a deep breathy laugh of an unknown man. 

“Who else is here?” Nigel asks, looking back to Kikyo. Taking the moment to free himself from her doting grip. 

She looks at him for a moment almost as if she was hesitant to tell him. Her brown eyes staring at his auburn eyes as if she was searching for something in them. He guesses she found what she was looking for because before she turned her back on him and shuffled back into the kitchen she said to him in a clear voice.

“A Nakama” 

*** 

Nigel entered the room to find Chiyoh and the stranger giggling amongst themselves. The stranger telling her a hilarious story apparently. 

“I hope I’m not interrupting.” Nigel says as he steps into the small dining room. Both Chiyoh and the stranger looks up at him with a smile. Nigel forces a strained smile back only to see the strangers grin slowly falling into a frown. The stranger looks put off at the sight of him.

“Nigel sit here.” Chiyoh chimes, patting the seat next to her.

He takes a seat directly across the stranger who stares at him with a blank gaze. Nigel clears his throat awkwardly, the sudden change in atmosphere catching him off guard. The stranger, just realizing he was staring, averts his blue eyes quickly, looking down at his hands instead. 

“Uhm, hello. I’m Nigel” Nigel says extending his hand across the solid oak table trying to introduce himself.

“Daniel” the man said curtly.

He looked at Nigel’s hand as if it couldn’t be trusted but shook it anyway. He grabbed his hand firmly but quickly. Nigel noted how Daniel clenched his fist tightly after releasing his hand, his face unreadable. Chiyoh and Nigel shared a quick glance at one another, even the young girl noticing the man’s sudden strange behavior.

Kikyo enters the room, cutting the tension slightly, carrying a tray of drinks. She places a cup of warm tea in front of each of them and one in front of the empty chair, next to Daniel, for herself. 

“I’ll be right back with dinner.” Kikyo said, turning to exit.

“Let me help you.” Daniel stands quickly to assist her.

“Nonsense, you are a guest. Chiyoh can help me.” Daniel sat back down slowly with a deflated expression on his face. 

With a wave from her grandmother Chiyoh follows behind her out of the room giving Nigel a final glance before leaving. The silence that follows is staggering. Daniel keeps peeking at Nigel from under his lashes but looks away every time Nigel returns the glances. 

The man was not much younger than he was, but he had dark circles that matched Nigel’s. His clothes were loose and worn but the dark blue pull over he was wearing looked comfortable. His brown curly hair hangs slightly shorter than his ears, his beard rough and scruffy around his red chapped lips. The man was handsome Nigel could admit but still peculiar none the less. Nigel could hear the light ticking of the small clock that sat on the mantel of the fireplace. He leans back in his chair loosely crossing his arms together.

“How long have you known Kikyo and Chiyoh” Daniel asked nervously, breaking the silence. 

“I’ve known Kikyo since I was young and Chiyoh since she was a just a babe.” Nigel answered surprised by the sudden question. “You?”

“Not long” he says “matter-of-fact-ly”, sipping his almost forgotten tea. 

They fall silent again, the air feeling thick in the small room. Nigel rubes his heavy eyes and makes himself busy by counting all the knickknacks and paintings on the patterned walls. The old Japanese crest hanging on the wall behind Daniels head, the bonsai plant in the corner, the large rifle mounted above the fireplace, all were familiar to Nigel and made him feel at home. 

He raised his tea cup to his lips sipping the warm liquid only to find that it wasn’t tea at all but coffee, no cream just a little sugar, just the way he liked it. He smiles to himself silently thanking Kikyo, only to look up to find Daniel staring at him again, making him feel self-conscious. Nigel furrows his brows making Daniel look away. His blue eyes almost looking hazel in the warm lighting of the dimly lit room.

_ Does he make you uncomfortable? _ The voice said sounding almost amused. Nigel sighed deeply and downs the rest of his coffee hoping Kikyo returns with another cup soon. 

***

Diner was delicious, the elk was tender and well-seasoned in the stew Kikyo prepared, served with black rice and an array of vegetable dishes. The conversation was less strained and flowed easily with Chiyoh and Kikyo somewhat serving as buffers between the two men. Nigel learned that Daniel and the girls have only known each other a couples of weeks and that Daniel was one of the hunters who shot the gang of elk earlier in the day and Kikyo store was one of the first shops to get a couple of game. They were sold out in a matter of hours so as thanks Kikyo offered to cook Daniel a nice home cooked meal, the first he had since he migrated to their town only four months ago. 

Kikyo cleared their plates, stating she’ll be back with dessert which Daniel tries to politely decline but with a quick scolding from her decides to stay. 

“Leaving before dessert is rude Daniel” Chiyoh said pretending to scold him the way her grandmother did just moments ago. 

“I’m sorry little Chiyoh it won’t happen again” Daniel reassured her with a smile. “I wouldn’t want the Raven Stag to come get me in the middle of the night!” He said in mock terror, making her laugh.

“Oh, don’t tell me you believe in that old wise tale” Nigels interjects, too tired to entertain children stories. Eying how Chiyoh laughs at everything Daniel says. 

“The Raven Stag is real Nigel” Chiyoh said, giving him a good poke in his rib for even suggesting otherwise.

“Oh of course it’s real, a giant, all black stag, but instead of fur it has black shiny feathers like a raven; and it stalks around in the middle of the night eating up all the rude people in town. How could I possibly think it was fake?” He said sarcastically, giving her an equally annoying poke back. 

“The Raven Stag _is_ real. I saw him.”Daniel say sheepishly not looking at Nigel.

“Nigel also saw him”, Kikyo said, reentering the room with a tray of sliced lemon cake neatly served on small elegant plates. 

“I was just a child. I don’t know what I saw.” Taking the plate gladly and wasting no time before he stabs a piece of cake with his fork savoring the tart flavor.

“They say only a few people ever see the Stag and live to tell.” Kikyo said in between bites.

“Yeah, they say he’s a scary beast who goes around eating the hearts of bad people.” Chiyoh adds with a small shudder.

“They say he’s looking for his lost love who stole his heart. Doomed to roam the entire world searching for his true mate, eating the hearts of men to fill the void.” Daniel said, taking a bite of his own dessert, eyes widening at the unexpected pure sour flavor. Nigel smiles at his reaction their eyes meet briefly before he looks away. 

_They say he ate his lover’s heart straight from his chest while it was still beating. They say he held it in his hands and devoured it raw, savoring every morsel. They say he wanders the woods aimlessly now, ravaging every heart in site, yearning to taste the sweet, intoxicating flavor once more but none can compare. They say the only people who live to tell are the ones who have no heart left to devour. People. Just. Like. You. _Nigel silently gasps at the voice’s tale, downing his second cup of coffee. _You’re going to need something stronger than that._ Nigel rubes his tired eyes and eats the rest of his cake. His hands shake when he grabs the fork. __

____

____

***

Nigel squinted at Chiyoh as she gives Daniel a hug goodbye begging him not to go. But only giving Nigel a halfhearted wave and didn’t even look back when he tells her goodnight, as she trots up the stairs. He gawked at Kikyo as she comments on **both** of their matching tired eyes but only gives a soothing night-time tea to Daniel. Telling him to drink it right before bed saying it will help him sleep. 

He’s practically grinding his teeth when Daniel in sliding into his shoes, that were placed neatly together in the corner while Nigel is practically hopping on one foot with one shoe trying to find where ever the hell Chiyoh threw his other one. 

By the time the door closed behind the two of them Nigel is agitated and in desperate need of a stiff drink. He walks through the courtyard to the front gate holding it open for Daniel to walk through. Daniel mumbles something that Nigel thinks is a thank you. They walk silently along the narrow street toward the main road. Half the town is asleep, the only sounds are the chirping of crickets and the quiet whistle of the wind. Daniel walks a few feet in front of Nigel, his hands are stuffed in the pockets of an oversized jacket and a wool hat hiding his coffee colored curls. 

They reached the end of the narrow street and Daniel stops at the end of the T-bone intersection. Nigel, only a few steps behind, comes up next to him. Daniel looked at him for what felt like the thousandth time tonight.

Nigel’s bow shaped lips were in a hard line, his hooded auburn eyes dark and sullen. His light blond eyebrows knitted together as a yawn scrunched his beautiful features. Daniel forced himself to look away, he takes a step away from Nigel.

“Well I’m this way” he says pointing with his thumb behind him. “It was nice meeting you” he says, willing himself not to look at Nigel again before he turns and begin to swiftly walk away.

Nigel said nothing to the strange man’s goodbye. Just watched him walk away regarding the way his feet dragged lightly against the cracked cobblestoned sidewalk. Being left in the quiet street makes Nigel hesitant to go his respective way. 

“Hey!” Nigel yells after a moment.

Daniel turns around slowly clearly confused by Nigel’s call for him. 

“It’s still pretty early, you wanna go grab a drink?” 

Daniel looked surprised by the sudden invitation and to Nigel’s puzzlement he also looks, offended. Daniel hesitates to answer and takes a slow deep breathe if he was taking a moment to calm himself before he spoke, much to Nigel’s confusion. He gave a small hollow chuckle and slowly shook his head running his hand over his face rubbing at his eyes. 

“Uhm… No” He says sternly before he gave one final apprehensive look at Nigel and swiftly turned to walk away, leaving Nigel alone on the street gawking from the odd rejection.

He could hear a dark low snicker bubbling up in the back of his mind. The ominous voice finding his interaction with the strange man entertaining. Nigel signed deeply at the kind of night he was having, his heavy body begging to go home. Sleep calling him and his groggy mind, but the thought of dreaming made him weary and he could feel his palms start to sweat. He really needed that drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> I would really love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and suggestions. Also, I hope it's not too confusing. I promise all the pieces of the puzzle will come together.... eventually.... hopefully. :)
> 
> Notes: Nigel's dream is a mashup from multiple seasons/episodes of the show but it's referring mostly to Season 1: Episode 10: Buffet Froid


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will’s reincarnation Daniel relives an unsavory memory.
> 
> Warning: Non graphic death of a child.   
> Graphic description of dead body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again,
> 
> Sorry for the spacey upload. I kinda struggled to write this chapter the way I really wanted to. I find that my skill level is not as good as my imagination and sometimes I find it hard to clearly tell the story in the way I want and imagine. This chapter is something I just kind of gave up on trying to make "perfect" and just said what the hell. I hope my lack of skill doesn't deter you from continuously reading, because I'm really enjoying the next few chapters im writing. I really do write this story to have fun and be creative and not necessarily write in the most textbook/ grammatically correct way. That being said I took it upon my self to make up some words! (just 1) Since I find the English language to be lacking ( I know who the hell do I think I am lol). So there will be a little glossary at the end with a poorly made character visual. 
> 
> Unbeta-ed so please forgive me for my mistakes.

### Chapter 2

Daniel tries to open his stinging eyes with a flutter. His vision is blurry and there is a loud ringing noise in his ears. He knows someone is calling his name, hell, he can even vaguely see their lips moving. He blinks a couple of times and can finally make out the shapes of people, two or three all crouched around him as he lay on his back. His head feels foggy and the lights around him flicker erratically in the dark of the night. He can feel multiple hands on him. 

“Daniel?... Daniel. Can you hear me?” A booming voice says, gently pulling him up into a sitting position resting his back onto a tree trunk. “Give him some water!” The voice says again assertively. Soon Daniel can feel a metal cup being put to his lips. He gulps the water down desperately feeling dry to the bone. He feels unbelievably hot in the November air; his skin is slick with sweat and soil and what appears to be soot. He looks down at his chapped hands covered in black soot and shakes his head trying to get his groggy mind to work. He feels the same pair of hands on his face and is forced to look into the eyes of Laurence. 

He should have recognized the loud voice of his friend and leader. His large brown eyes staring into Daniel’s bloodshot blue ones. 

“Are you alright?” Laurence says with obvious concern.

Daniel nods his head slowly and then spurts out a yes that brings on a coughing fit. Laurence accepts this with a curt nod and stands to his feet. His thundering demands being shouted again.  
“Craddock you stay with Daniel, the rest of you come with me now!” Laurence barks, stalking off behind him. Daniel’s disoriented mind struggles to keep up, the moment feels like a dream, everyone’s voices and movements sound and looks slightly fuzzy. Daniel tries to force out words but is unable to, a pathetic sounding ‘wait’ manages to escape his mouth only to go unheard. The ringing in his ears finally start to die down and he could hear the commotion around him. Shouts of panic and the bustle of people all swirling around him as he tries to stop the incessant coughing. 

“Hey… are you sure you’re well, here have some more water,” The young lab ordered to stay behind named Craddock says, offering up another cup he tries to bring to Daniels' lips. Knocking the metal cup away Daniel forces himself to his feet ignoring the protests of his assigned aide. His head swims from the sudden movement and he catches his balance on another large tree. 

After a moment he looks up and sees roaring flames illuming the dark forest night. Home after home of his small hunting village up in smoke. Burning in an inferno that seems too large for the homes that it consumes. Ashes fall from the sky like snow, covering the previously grassy terrain in black filth. 

Daniel could feel the blood drain from his face at the sight, the sounds, the smell. People yelling, children screaming and shouting in fear. Some of the screams seemed to come from the infernos themselves, violent and in anguish. Men practically sprinting from the local stream and wells desperately trying to put out the rebellious flames. He could even hear familiar voices in the distance, Laurence somewhere front-lining the entire disaster. Daniel snaps his eyes shut in horror, all his senses seem to jolt alive at the offensive scene in front of him. How the hell could something like this have happened? He doesn’t even recall how he had somehow come to layout in the brush, barely conscious and coughing up a lung. One moment he was home eating dinner with his wife and so-  
Charlie! Anna!

Daniels' heart sinks down to the very pit of his stomach and before he knew it he was running. Running as fast as he could all along the perimeter of the town keeping to the tree line getting an almost panoramic view of the scorching destruction. His lungs burned as he vacuumed in the oxygen-deprived air, the fires and the altitude both working against him. His bare feet, that were hitting the forest floor of twigs, grass, and rock, felt numb in the cold. Trees flying past, left behind in the distance just like the sound of his name being called from too-far-behind him for him to care. No, he didn’t care about that, the only thing he cares about is his wife Anna and their son, his boy, Charlie. They had to be somewhere, his eyes scanning the people as he ran by. But he doesn’t stop, he runs. He runs until he feels his legs about to go out. He runs until he feels like his chest is going to burst open. He runs until he sees it. 

Until he comes along the familiar place, burnt black, almost down to the frame. His home stood almost unrecognizable, a large fire still endured inside. He could see the flames licking out of the second-story bedroom window. No one was around to extinguish it, already condemning the house to ruin, moving onto the larger blazes that threatened to consume the rest of the unscathed village.  
He slowly made his way toward the front door practically in a trance. The door hung broken nearly burned off its hinges. He pushes through the small gate to his courtyard the old paint peeling up from the close proximity to the heat. He steps even closer, slowly, his body incapable of moving any faster now. He steps up onto the raised threshold he could feel the unbelievable heat. He's been in front of an open flame in his day before but nothing like this. Being surrounded like he was felt unreal, it felt like he was in hell. 

He slowly surveyed his home, the living room was charred, furniture and knickknacks unsalvageable. The ceiling was still actively burning, flames rolled along it like waves tumbling on a riverbank.  
“Anna!?” Daniel yells, tears from the smoke rolling down his face. “Charlie!” he screamed again louder. He pushed further into his home towards the kitchen, his dry-cracked hands pulling his worn nightshirt over his face. He kept his head down trying not to breath in the smoke. Kicking open the swinging door at the end of the hall that leads to their humble kitchen, he was met with a burst of flames. He fumbled back with a start, losing his footing and falling backward with a loud thump. He lets out a coughed cry holding onto this right forearm that had been singed by the fire. He holds the appendage close to his body, biting hard on his bottom lip to muffle a scream that works its way out anyway. Once again, he struggles to breathe but the air low to the ground is cleaner and he manages to pull himself together. He starts to crawl slowly back from where he came. He sees the smoke billowing out of his front door that was now gaping wide open. Through the smoke, he could see Craddock. He stood yelling at him from the safe distance behind the gated courtyard, arms flailing, waving Daniel to come towards him. Daniel stood to his feet keeping his head low turning his gaze from the panicking man to the stairway leading to the top floor. 

Without a second thought, he made his way upstairs trying to avoid the pieces of burning debris that had fallen. The foundation of the stairs were weakened from the destruction, they cracked and creaked under his feet that were riddled with blisters now. The fire upstairs burned bright and hot he held his hands over his face in a feeble attempt to shield himself. He was barely halfway up the stairs, the fire so potent he felt his hair singing on the back of his head causing him to frantically rub at the burning follicles. The fire was so strong it must have started from the upstairs back bedroom until it grew out of control, burning its way through the floorboards where it crashed down into the kitchen setting the entire home aflame.

“Ch- Charlie?! Anna?! Baby… baby, please answer me!” He sobs out a broken cry. The heat too much for him to move any further upwards.  
Suddenly he felt a pair of hands grab him dragging him down the stairs. The strong arms hooking around Daniel’s shoulders pulling him back and swiftly out of the front door. The burning home moved out of his view like a train to a station, as if he were the stationary one, and his desecrated home was the one sliding back away from him on some sort of track. Craddock pulled him into the dirt street out of harm. Both of them spitting and coughing up smoke as they lay together on the frozen hard ground. Craddock pushing Daniel on his back roughly, furiously grabbing at his carbonized shirt.  
“What are you thinking! Why would you do such a thing!” Craddock yells demanding an answer to Daniel's irrational stunt. 

“Get off of me!” Daniel cried, tears still streaming from his face. Pushing the younger man to the side trying to sit up only to be grabbed again firmly by his shirt. 

“They’re not in there, someone would have gotten them out already! Craddock says, trying to rationalize.

“No” Daniel replied quietly, shaking his head staring at his home over Croddock’s shoulders. If she had got out, she would have come looking for him. He knew his Anna, she would have been there when he woke up. She would have come looking for him and she would have found him! “No get off of m- “Daniel tries to scream in stubborn protest, but the shout had caught in his throat. He was stunned frozen. He had suddenly stopped fighting Craddock and was staring past him with a look on his face that Craddock has never seen in his life. Craddock felt a cold chill run down his spine at the look and swiftly turns his head to see the thing that had shocked Daniel. His mouth fell open slowly in terror. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Out of the inflamed home immerged a dark figure.

Craddock was never a superstitious man. He had gone his entire life listening to folk tales and whispers of a forgotten world. Bedtime stories of heart-eating demons told by his parents. Tales of a wicked three-hundred-year-old witch lurking in the dead of night by his peers. Even drunken babbles of an abandoned dystopia, down the mountain underneath the clouds, told in the local pub. No, he never once believed in those fabricated narratives, but in this very instance, he knew them all to be true. Because in this instant he knew he was looking into the eyes of death. 

He gaped at the terrifying creature, its skeletal body stood more than seven feet tall. Its pitch black skin, smooth and hairless without as much as a blemish or flaw, was stretched too thin around its emaciated body. Its face was of that of a man’s, its sunken cheeks and chiseled features held no emotion what so ever. Large antlers protruded from its skull reaching so high it had to duck its head under the door frame as it made its way out of the burning house. It slowly came towards them with an ominous and dark aura that seemed to take the breath from them entirely. It was cradling something small in its arms, clutching the object close to its body. The creature’s large feet left no prints in the dirt road as it came to stand before them, just a meter or so away. 

The two men look up at the creature in shocked silence. It takes Daniel’s mind a moment to compute what he was seeing he could feel his heart beating loudly, his eyes bore directly into the monsters' white hollow orbs. He could feel a scream bubbling in the back of his throat until he saw what the creature was holding in its arms. Tears began to stream from Daniels' eyes as he stared. The creature crouched down, laying the thing it was holding in its arms down in front of them. 

Daniel looks upon his son’s small burnt body. His Charlie resting, curled up into a small ball. His clothes and flesh were burnt off, down to the bone in some places. Daniels' body sagged forward on its own his head resting down on the ground in from of his dead boy. A brutal sob ripped its way through his entire body. A cry so loud the entire village must hear his wales.

As Daniel crouches, weeping in despair over his son the creature begins to stand. Stretching out back to its towering height, looking down at them. Its eyes looking back and forth between the two men a few times. Then they land on Daniel and its head tilts slightly, face still expressionless. The creature watches him with an eerie intent, its perceptive eyes seeing too much. After a moment it turned to the adjacent forestry, its disturbingly creepy eyes looking off at an unknown place in the distance. Its clawed feet whisper against the cold ground towards the void of the nearby woodland. It goes into the treelined brush immersing itself into the night.

Craddock has yet to even blink and stares unseeing into the empty space the creature once occupied. Daniel continues to cry uncontrollably, gently trying to pull his small child into his arms. Daniels' eyes did not- could not blink as he peered down at his boy. His breathing erratic and his whole body shook with violent tremors. Someone should have warned him this could happen. He couldn’t wrap his head around the reality he was suspended in. He caresses his boys face, he could still feel his soft cheek, his gap-tooth smile, the soft-hearted gestures that would make Daniels' day. Daniel always knew he was undeserving of the pure joy the boy has brought to his life. He had always known it was too good to be true. He thought of the late nights he would stay up rocking him to sleep in his arms and think, how? How did you get so lucky? All his happiness, all his love all forgone now, all burnt, like ashes in his mouth. 

Then a roaring screech echoes out of the forest from the direction the creature disappeared. The sound so loud it woke Craddock from his paralytic stupor. His limbs that were once frozen in fear finally moves. He grasps at Daniels sleeve, desperately trying to collect them and get as far away as he possibly could from the walking nightmare that had just invaded their already hellish night. Craddock finally notices the body with a shocked gasp falling back onto his heels. The image of Daniel grasping a burnt corpse made his stomach seize in a sickly snot. 

Abruptly the heartbroken father rips his eyes away from his boy and into the direction of the creature as if he been called by name. Daniel stands to his feet hoisting his child up with him until Charlies' skull was settled right in the nook of Daniels' neck. If someone were watching from a distance it would appear if he was carrying a sleeping child. He made his way towards the forest clutching Charlie close. Craddock watches them go incredulously. He reached out in vain, the hem of Daniel’s pants slipping through his fingers. He had followed him all night, through the brush, into a burning home, but not there. No Craddock didn't follow, nor did he call out to him. 

He simply watches Daniel get up and walk right into the darkness and vanish.

***

Daniel's eyes slid open, a noise waking him from his light slumber. He feels groggy as he sits upright in his chair in the corner of his rural wooden cabin. He rubs the back of his neck trying to shake the memoric dream from his mind. The dim light from the tabletop lamp lit his room in a warm glow, the fire in the fireplace down to its last embers. His nighttime tea Kikyo had given him sits cold on the small nightstand. He had only taken a few sips before he abandoned it. The wind howls in the night and he instantly clutches his shotgun that is conveniently placed near his current resting spot.  
He stands from his chair and cautiously peeks out the windowed peephole in his front door. His heavy boots, he never bothered taking off, clunk loudly against the wooden floorboards. He lets out the small breath he been holding as he surveys the empty woodlands. He still held his gun with him the weight of it making him feel safe. The night was frigid and gusty, the wind swelled around his cabin. Wailing eerie whistles. 

He could see his breath in the air. He fed his fire, kindling the flames until they came back to life, he crouched close to the fireplace feeling the heat chafe his skin. He inched a little closer. He had a bad habit of standing to close to flames, ever since that day. One would probably think that fire scared him, that it made him re-live the horrible night that was burned into his memory like a brand to cattle. But in an odd way it was the opposite, it made him feel grounded. Made him feel alive and to never take the things he had for granted. Cause he knew more than anyone else how easily everything could change. 

He stood up making his way to the kitchen placing his shotgun down on the counter he opened his cabinet and pulled out the tea. Kicking on a fresh kettle of water on the wood-burning stove. He was thankful for the old woman and young gal he had met. They had accepted him with open arms since the moment he settled in this new town. Kikyo had treated him like an old friend or distant relative who had finally come home after years away. 

The first time they had met he was browsing the little grocery shop Kiyko’s family had owned for years. She had helped him shop recommending items and letting him know what was in season and what meals were her favorites. She gave him free samples of the local food that grew regionally around the area making small talk. Even introducing him to a hunting guild where he would make his living. Getting him steady work. Even though everyone in the town wasn’t as welcoming to newcomers like her, she made him feel welcome. 

Her granddaughter Chiyoh so happy and charismatic. She reminded him of his boy. All smiles and too smart for her own good. When he had left his home those years ago, he had nothing. Nothing left to him but ashes. Now he was building a new life. One that maybe he would feel a bit optimistic about if it wasn’t for that one thing. 

He pulled the whistling kettle off the hot burner pouring it into the same mug he had drunk from earlier. He took a small sip of the bitter tea warming his stiff cold fingers on the sides of the cup.  
A loud howl in the wind suddenly startles Daniel making goosebumps prickle on his skin. He sets his mug down with an ungraceful clank and swiftly grabs his gun off the counter, he clicks the safety off and cocks the barrel back with a loud click in one fluent motion. The gun loaded and ready and he looks out of his kitchen window over the sink. He peeked under the curtains looking into the darkness. Nothing was there, just trees swaying in the wind. He made his way to his front door looking out the peephole again and he tries to stifle a gasp.

There he was again! He spotted the figure standing a few yards away from his cabin. The man was far enough he could barely see his face in the dark, but he was close enough that the soft light from the cabin lit up parts of him. The figure wore the same linen clothes that everyone in the town seemed to like to wear. His sweater flapping erratically in the wind. He was tall, lean and unsurprisingly pale in the freezing temperature. He stood close to the door, but Daniel couldn’t see his face a perpetual shadow had been cast blocking Daniel's view. 

Daniel takes a deep breath and readies his gun. Shotgun pointed and finger ghosting over the sensitive trigger, he flings open the door, bitter air whipping the hair around his face. The man who was just a few feet from his front door moments ago is now miraculously yards away. Despite the shivering temperature, the man stood facing him perfectly still like a carved statue.  
“Who’s there?” Daniel confronts, swallowing the knot in his throat. 

Unexpectedly the unknown man backs away, turns and runs into the forest. Daniel wants to chase him, but a small pang of fear holds him back. He swiftly retreats back into his home locking the planked door behind him. He puffs out shallow breaths, forcing himself to breathe out his nose trying to calm his erratically beating heart.

This is the fourth night Daniel had encountered the stranger. The man being an unwelcome regular at night. For the past few weeks, he has been showing up sporadically without any warning. When Daniel first noticed him, he took him for a thief skulking in the night. But the man didn’t move about his property in inspection of steal-able items. He just watched. 

He would stand in the night watching Daniels cabin, unmoving despite rain, gust or snow. This is the first time however that Daniel had gotten enough courage to go out and try to confront him. Being too scared to do so beforehand, before he saw the man’s ‘face’ that is. At least he thinks he knows his face. Daniel closes his eyes seeing the tall linen clothed figure and his mind instantly pictures Kikyo’s relate.

He reflects on the other night when he first met the man at Kikyo’s home, recalling that his name was Nigel. Daniel didn’t know why but something in him told him that he knew that man. It was a strange feeling at first, a strong urge of familiarity came to him when their eyes met. And that very same ‘something’ told him that the man at dinner and the one lurking outside his home, despite not seeing his face, was one and the same. But the question that Daniel has yet to find an answer to was, why? 

Daniel wonders as he moves over to the fireplace stretching out numb digits. He places a now warmed hand over his mouth to stop his shivering teeth. He wasn’t sure if they were shivering because of the cold or the man at this point, but he told himself that tomorrow he would try to find out. He glances at the cold spilled tea on the kitchen counter and breathes a humorless laugh. Tea be dammed he wasn’t going to sleep tonight.

***

Daniel knocked on the red wooden door of the rustic brick home. The door opens shortly after, Kikyo standing on the other side with a gentle smile. She ushers Daniel inside the home, greeting him warmly. They exchange quick pleasantries, being only a day since he last saw her. She asked him if he had eaten and he tells her he had cooked up the last of the elk he had left from the hunt for breakfast. She takes a long look at him and asks him how he’s been sleeping, he lies and tells her he has been sleeping better, and that the tea helps. As soon as she turns her back though he stifles a yawn. 

He couldn’t sleep at all last night after the man’s appearance, he woke up almost every hour paranoid with checking to see if the individual came back. He never did but before Daniel knew it, it was morning. Little Chiyoh went to school on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, so on those days Daniel would wake up early and help Kikyo prepare produce and game and whatever she felt necessary for the shop. The old woman ran the store without any help from anyone. The place was no bigger than a large bedroom, but at her age she could use some help and Daniel is always more than happy to oblige when asked. 

On this particular day, however, she had asked Daniel to meet her at her home. When Daniel had asked why she simply rolled up one of her large bell sleeves and showed him a large bruise. The blue and purplish discoloration looked painful and inflamed. It stands out against her pale skin but was well hidden within the flowing fabric of her shirt. 

“What happened there?” Daniel asks with concern, leaning in to get a better look. 

“Oh, I just fell in the garden,” Kikyo says trying to downplay the tender looking injury. “A little fox ripped its way through the patio, startling me and I fell and hit my arm on the edge of a planter.” She said pulling her sleeve back down. 

“The screen is ripped pretty badly, you think you can fix it for me?” Kikyo says making her way down the slim hallway and towards the back door signaling for Daniel to follow her. 

“Sure,” Daniel says, following right being her. 

Daniel gawks at the gaping hole in the mesh screened-in garden. His mouth falling into a perfectly rounded ‘O’. The hole was the size of a man jagged and ripped as if it was done with a knife. He catches the black coarse fabric in his hands, as it billows in the wind. He pokes his head out of the hole looking out to the other side into the flat grassy backyard that transitioned into the wooded forest.

“A fox did this?” Daniel asks. Clearly surprised by the size of the rip. Kikyo steps forward tentatively, surveying the hole with Daniel. 

“The little thing must have climbed up on the roof and clawed his way down,” Kikyo says nonchalantly pointing at the part of the second floor where the roof slopes down into the patio.  
The second story roof had to be at least 10 meters high. Daniel marvels at how the small animal managed to get way up there in the first place.

“A fall like that, it must have gotten hurt,” Daniel says, but his worries fall on deaf ears as Kikyo has already left him to it. She busies herself as Daniel works, tending the garden while he starts to poorly fix the tear. 

Daniel struggles a little but finishes pretty quickly, patching the mesh with little scrap pieces of leftover screen Kikyo had in storage and a small pot of adhesive. It wasn’t the prettiest, but it will keep any more creatures from falling into the garden and scaring the poor old woman to death. 

Daniel surveyed the homes lush garden admiring the modest reserve of plant life. Rows of planters all potted with different produce. Tea leaves, cabbage, roots, beets, berries of different kinds all grew happily. A large wall of herbs grew lush with greenery. Even edible flowers brightened up the dreary cold day with flush pink and violet blooms. The sun flickers onto the shaded patio, cascading leafy shadows from the trees above. Cicadas chirp persistently despite the nippy weather creating a humming sound, a white noise in the soft howls of the wind. The garden buzzed with the music of life.  
Daniel watched Kikyo mill around the garden, she picks a basket full of tea leaves, uprooting weeds as she goes. Her hands are ungloved and the soil in cakes under her nails, the drowsy sun tanning her wind-chafed skin. Her short black hair is pinned up into a bun and her long sleeves rolled up out of the way flashing a part of her bruise. She looks over her shoulder sensing Daniel’s eyes on her. 

“Come, collect some of the berries there,” Kikyo says, pointing at the bushel of the pearling red fruit. Giving Daniel another task for the day to complete. Daniel grabs one of the spare wicker bowls and starts to collect the small fruit. One by one he picks the little berries, occasionally popping one into his mouth. They’re pleasantly tart, the sweet and sour flavor making his lips pucker. The burgundy orbs were so ripe they burst with just a bit of pressure between Daniel’s fingers, the translucent flesh dripping bubbling juices that makes his fingers sticky.

After Daniel picked most of the ripe berries of the bushes Kikyo comes and collects the baskets. With their small harvest, they both make their way back into the home. Daniel closes the sliding door behind them toeing off his heavy boots and sliding on the pair of slippers Kikyo had laid out for him. He follows Kikyo through the condensed hall past the corridor into the Kitchen.  
Daniel offers to help her not wanting her to strain her injured arm, but she waves him off, dismissing him to the small round wooden table in the corner. Daniel lets out a sigh as he takes a seat closest to the window. He stretched his legs and watches Kikyo move about the modest kitchen. 

She dumps the berries into a bowl and rinses them with water from the sink. The tea leaves she collected are too fresh to be steeped into a decent tea yet, so she pulls out a large flat wicker bowl and lays the tea on it to dehydrate. A few days laying in the sun will dry them out to be mixed and brood into a fragrant tea. But for now, she takes a handful of already dried leaves she has stored in a mason jar and mixes them an afternoon drink. She takes the mahonia berries, some dried agrimony and green tea then places them in a small teapot. She fills the pot with water and strikes a match to light the small stovetop. 

Daniel watches in silence from the table. He feels no need to break the quiet, he appreciates the peaceful days he spent here in her home. He felt the tension in his shoulders slacken slightly, this place being a much-needed break from the recent nights he spent. 

“You seem wearier than usual” Kikyo comments, joining him. She gingerly takes his hand in hers feeling his palm with both of her thumbs. “Have I been working you too hard today”

“Oh no of course not,” Daniel says with a forced smile. Kikyo gives him a knowing look, clearly being able to tell how tired he was. 

“I … had a visitor last night,” Daniel says cautiously. Unsure on how to proceed. His annual visits by the unknown man weren’t necessarily a secret but it was a hard subject to broach when in casual conversation. 

“Hmm…”, Kikyo hums in acknowledgment now feeling up his forearm pressing on the points in his arm. “A Nakama?” She asked, looking up at him expectantly.

“A what?” Daniel asks tilting his head confused by the word he’s never heard before. Daniel is not sure but he thinks he sees a small smile flicker on her wrinkled face.

“You’re not well, you should rest more,” Kikyo says ignoring his question and releasing Daniel's arm from her exam.

“I haven’t been well in many years” He replies, chuckling bitterly.

“Time heals all wounds,” Kikyo says, sensing the shift in the conversation. 

“Not all …” Daniels says under his breath his mood quickly souring.

“Just keep living, you’ll be surprised by how many scars one can carry.”

“What scars have time left you with?” Daniel asks leaning back in his chair. 

“Too many to count and some so old I barely feel them anymore.” She replies. There’s no bitterness in her voice just truths. Daniel couldn’t imagine his painful memories fading, especially when they revitalized pretty much every time, he closed his eyes.

“Well mines are so fresh they’re practically raw to the touch. It gets pretty unbearable.” Daniel confesses.

“The pain doesn’t necessarily get easier, you just change into someone who can tolerate it,” Kikyo says.

Daniel snickers at this. Kikyo looks at him expectedly, waiting for him to continue. He takes a deep breath “The things I have seen changed me all right. It took something from me. It still takes, every time I close my eyes it takes. So much that I don’t even feel like myself. Like taxidermy, hollowed out and filled with something else. Someone else.  
Kikyo stills at Daniel's words. Her eyebrows raising slightly as she looks at him. 

“What?” Daniel asks, slightly blushing at the way she stares at him. Embarrassed that he may have shared too much. 

“Nothing, you just remind me of someone I once knew,” Kikyo says with a sad smile. They must have been very similar Daniel thinks, this not being the first time he has heard of his resemblance to her old friend. 

“What do you see behind closed eyes?” She continues.

Daniel felt hesitant again, he hasn’t told Kikyo the full details of his past. Similar to the unknown man he felt bound to not speak of it. She knows of the death of his family, he had mentioned being a widow a while back when she had suggested a nice woman she thought Daniel should meet. However, he has yet to mention the nature of their deaths to her. The proverbial ‘wound’ being much too painful to speak of it.

“I see...” Daniel began contemplating his words carefully. “I see things that don’t seem to be real but felt so true at the moment I experienced them. Till this day I’m not even sure if they were real or just nightmares.”

“Whether they truly happened or not it affected you just the same.”

“I can’t stop thinking about it” Daniel whispered. His voice cracking as a stray tear rolled down his bearded cheek. He quickly wiped it way.

Kikyo knew the conversation had suddenly turned to Daniel's late Wife and child. Kikyo was no stranger to loss and she bared the same scares of grief that Daniel bares. She knew the pain of that scar and how it could ache and throb so painfully that it can be hard to focus on much else. Kikyo slid her hand across the wooden table on top of Daniels. Not in a test of his health this time but in an attempt to comfort. 

“And this visitor, he brings up these old memories to you?” Kikyo asks, broaching the original subject. 

“Not necessarily, I feel so safe here, my old life and this one is so different I feel like as if I’ve died and been reborn into a new one but when he comes it feels like the dark parts have followed me here if only a little. 

The whistling teapot interrupts them and Kikyo gets up from the table plucking the teapot from the burner. She pours them each a cup of tea and brings them to the table along with a small bowl of sugar. Daniel wraps his hands around the scolding cup, the heat calms him, and he takes a moment to sip at the bitter drink. He feels the burn in his fingers and takes a breather from there serious conversation. This is how most of his talks with Kikyo go. They both understand the harsh world they live in and he doesn’t feel judged when he gets into one of his moods. He can talk about and much or as little of his past that he wants to and she’s always open to listen. He knew he didn’t need to hide from Kikyo yet a part of him wanted to keep his past away from his present life. 

“Kikyo,” Daniel started again. “That man from a few days ago at dinner h-” 

“Nigel,” She says interjecting.

“Yes, Nigel, he’s been…” Daniel says looking down at his cooling tea. He couldn’t finish his sentence. He hated not being a hundred percent sure of the man’s identity, he didn’t want to accuse anyone of something unless he knew without uncertainty. Daniel knew first hand how it felt to be falsely accused of something you didn’t do, but he had to find out if his assumption were true. 

“Nigel’s a good man, he really is, he’s intelligent and kind but he can be a bit sensitive at times,” Kikyo says, blowing at her tea before taking a sip. “I apologize if he seemed a little standoffish that night, he’s been a bit troubled as of late and hasn’t been in the best of moods. You two have so much in common, with your upbringing and family situation and whatnot, that I was hoping that you two could maybe become friends.” Kikyo says, looking to him with encouraging brown eyes. 

“Friends?” Daniel says contemplating her words. He was just moments away from accusing the man of being a creepy lurker, the prospect of friendship had never crossed his mind. Daniel had a feeling that that feeling was also shared by Nigel since he practically treated him like a creepy lurker the moment he met him. Making an undeniably bad first impression. 

Bang! Daniel and Kikyo both jump at the sudden sound of the front door being burst open the loud noise abruptly interrupting their quiet conversation.

“K-Kikyo! Kikyo!” They both heard a man shout from the front of the home. They share a look of shock before Kikyo swiftly gets up from her seat and rushes towards the front door.  
Daniel stands from his chair watching her rush out the kitchen doorway, the sound of the acquainted voice holding him back. Daniel didn’t have to go to see who it was to know who had burst in. He would hear their muffled conversation from the kitchen, he couldn’t make out what was being said exactly but he could hear the erratic way the man was speaking and the frantic breaths he was taking in.

Daniel mentally prepared himself before he walked to the front door to see what the commotion was about. To his surprise, he didn’t see the tall menacing linen-clothed man that he expected. Instead, his eyes locked with the hyperventilating, teary eyes of Nigel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anna=Molly Graham   
> Charlie= Wally   
> Laurence= Jack Crawford  
> Craddock= Mathew Brown
> 
> Memoric- A memory like state/ a nostalgic like state. 
> 
> Chapter refers to some of Season 3 episode 5


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